A wide variety of multi-layer articles are made and used for a wide variety of purposes. Some of these articles are exposed to environments that can be problematic for these articles. For example, some articles are exposed to the outside environment and thus exposed to water (rain, fog, mist, dew, etc), variations in temperature (both hot and cold), winds, and contaminants such as dirt, salts, oils and the like. This exposure can cause issues such as delamination of layers. In delamination, one or more layers becomes or begins to become detached from an adjacent layer. Once this process starts it can rapidly expand and cause a catastrophic failure of the article.
To prevent delamination, a variety of articles and techniques have been used to seal the edges of the articles, including the use of heat sealing and use of tapes that overlay the edges.
The PCT Publication No. WO 2009/080741 (Ventelon at al.) describes a solar energy reflector that comprises a mirror with no copper layer, that is laminated to a supporting sheet by means of a bonding material. The edges of the mirror are provided, at least on a portion forming the major part of their height and closest to the metallic sheet, with an edge protection made of a material comprising silicone, polyurethane and/or acrylic, where the material forming the edge protection is different from the bonding material.
The UK Patent Application No. GB 2,042,761 (Sadoune, et al.) describes a flexible radiant energy reflector in the form of a laminate comprising a glass ply bonded by means of bonding layer to a metal ply. The glass may be silvered on its unexposed surface. The flexible reflector may be mounted so that its curvature is fixed and held by a holding device comprising a frame with a rebate groove which receives opposed edges of the curved laminate.
The PCT Publication No. WO 2011/028742 (Molnar et al.) describes a concentrating solar mirror panel assembly having a reflective sheet and a corrugated stiffener having ridges and troughs. The concentrating solar mirror panel assembly may also have end-caps enveloping the two opposing edges of the concentrating solar mirror assembly. The end-caps typically are made of the same material as the corrugated stiffener.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,432 (Pitts et al.) described a method for adhering silver to a glass substrate for producing mirrors. This disclosure also includes encapsulated mirrors.
The PCT Publication No. WO 2007/076282 (Jorgensen et al.) describes a silver mirror construction that maintains a high percentage of hemispherical reflectance, wherein the mirrors are characterized by substantially improved optical durability and superior resistance to tunneling or delamination failure under outdoor environmental conditions. The mirrors comprise a) a pressure sensitive adhesive layer positioned beneath a silver overlay, b) a polymer film disposed on the silver overlay, c) an adhesive layer positioned on the polymer film, and d) a UV screening acrylic film disposed on the adhesive layer.
Edge protected barrier assembly films are described in a series of pending patent applications: U.S. Patent Ser. No. 61/515,021 titled “Edge Protected Barrier Assemblies” filed Aug. 4, 2011 and describes multi-layer films comprising a barrier stack adjacent an electronic device and a weatherable sheet adjacent the barrier stack; U.S. Patent Ser. No. 61/515,028 titled “Barrier Assemblies” filed Aug. 4, 2011 and describes multi-layer films comprising a barrier stack adjacent an electronic device and a weatherable sheet adjacent the barrier stack; U.S. Patent Ser. No. 61/515,043 titled “Edge Protected Barrier Assemblies” filed Aug. 4, 2011 and describes multi-layer films comprising a barrier stack adjacent an electronic device, a weatherable sheet adjacent the barrier stack, and a protective layer in contact with the electronic device and the weatherable sheet; and U.S. Patent Ser. No. 61/515,073 titled “Edge Protected Barrier Assemblies” filed Aug. 4, 2011 and describes multi-layer films comprising a barrier stack adjacent an electronic device, a weatherable sheet adjacent the barrier stack, and an opaque protective layer in contact with the electronic device and the weatherable sheet. Additionally, there are two pending patent applications relating to methods for preparing multi-layer articles with edge seals. U.S. Patent Ser. No. 61/515,079 titled “Edge Protected Barrier Assemblies” filed Aug. 4, 2011 and describes an assembly comprising an electronic device, and a multi-layer film. The multi-layer film comprises a substrate adjacent the electronic device, a barrier stack adjacent the substrate opposite the electronic device, and a weatherable sheet adjacent the barrier stack opposite the substrate. The multi-layer film has been fused. U.S. Patent Ser. No. 61/515,083 titled “Method of Making Delamination Resistant Assemblies” filed Aug. 4, 2011 and describes a method of reducing delamination in an assembly. The method comprises providing an assembly and limiting visible light exposure to parts of the assembly to maintain a peel force of 20 grams/inch or greater where the light is limited. The assembly comprises an electronic device, a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, wherein the second surface of the substrate is disposed on the electronic device, a barrier stack disposed on the first surface of the substrate, and a weatherable sheet adjacent the barrier film opposite the substrate. The assembly is transmissive to visible and infrared light.